Creating circular fashion ecosystems, solving fashion returns, and empowering citizens to enable garment durability are three of the major action points that have emerged from a report on the circular fashion ecosystem project of the British Fashion Council (BFC).
- The points have been highlighted in a report The Circular Fashion Ecosystem Project: Phase 2 — Developing the Roadmap for Change released by the BFC's Institute of Positive Fashion (IPF).
The Major Action Points: The action points are from a survey with multiple stakeholders from across the fashion value chain, to identify the opportunities and challenges they face in their bid to transition to a more circular model.
- Creating Circular Fashion Ecosystems: Establishing a scalable approach to implement the CFE vision in cities across the UK, by integrating Doughnut Economics principles and applying circular economy strategies. The vision is for these ecosystems to operate in a way that gives both society and our planet the ability to thrive.
- Solving Fashion Returns – How to Keep Value in a Closed Loop System: Exploring the financial, environmental and societal impact of fashion product returns, in order to identify potential mitigations. The aim is to assess different measures and technologies which minimise returns and handle them more efficiently and sustainably.
- Empowering Citizens to Enable Garment Longevity: Focusing on empowering citizens to care and repair their garments through information on QR codes. By exploring different technology and production approaches, the objective is to increase the number of times a garment is worn, given the trend of declining utilisation rates.
The Project: The Circular Fashion Ecosystem Project (CFE) is the IPF’s flagship programme from the BFC. Phase 1 of the CFE Project: A Blueprint for the Future, published in September 2021, serves as an actions-oriented approach for industry transformation with innovation, research, jobs & skills, education, and community at its heart. It sets out a framework of 10 Action Areas and 30 Recommendations to achieve three target outcomes for a future circular fashion ecosystem in the UK.
- The latest presents findings from the foundational stage of Phase 2 of the CFE Project: Developing the Roadmap for Change. Based on research conducted between January – April 2022, insights into stakeholder advances and challenges to reach a circular fashion ecosystem are presented.
- Insights were gained from the following stakeholder groups: Academia, Brands, Collectors, Designers, Digital Innovators, Institutions / Industry Bodies / 3rd sector, Manufacturers, Reprocessors, and Retailers. Based on this research, the main recommendations which are being advanced or were found to be most challenging are listed below.
The Insights: Insights from the surveys found common themes:
- Brands, Designers and Retailers felt it was their responsibility to support their customers in making considered purchases and to maximise the use of their existing clothes.
- Academia, Brands, and Institutions / Industry Bodies / 3rd sector are advancing education into circularity.
- Overall, circular and sharing business models (CSBMs) that enable the re-use of existing garments was preferred over recycling.
- Retailers and Reprocessors are most supportive of implementing an industry-led approach to EPR legislation. Overall, there was awareness by many stakeholders that policy was needed to change the industry.
- Manufacturers and Reprocessors see the need for feedstock standards to boost their operations. Although there is interest in developing label standards, there is less apparent understanding of feedstock standards for the textiles recycling industry.
- SME Designers, Brands, Reprocessors and Manufacturers are those receiving the most support through grants and incubation from Institutions / Industry Bodies / 3rd sector for adopting circular business models. This reflects how Designers, Brands and Reprocessors are those advancing their recommendations to reach the circular fashion ecosystem the most.
- Manufacturers and Collectors are particularly challenged, as they are currently overwhelmed with lower grade items which are difficult to sort, with too many variables of content received. There is high support for UK manufacturing but high comparative prices with international markets make this difficult, especially for mass-production.
- Digitisation was cited as a challenge by many due to cost. This includes digitising garments, integrating digital tracking system, and on-demand manufacturing and distribution. It was felt that digitising garments specifically; to try products virtually or purchase virtual products, was not yet relevant or cost-effective.
Going Ahead with the Findings: The report has validated the specific interdependencies essential for developing a critical path of activities to develop a roadmap for change. These activities to be progressed should include:
- A focus on identifying the barriers felt to advance the CFE Action Areas: Policy & Regulation, Circular Design and Post-use Ecosystem.
- Addressing challenges within the Post-Use Ecosystem as this Action Area brings into account all stakeholder groups and has the most Recommendations out of any of the Action Areas. The post-use ecosystem is part of upcoming regulatory changes, including textiles EPR and arguably holds the key to unlocking circularity at scale.
- Design an EPR scheme to address the issue of low-grade clothing which is difficult to recycle and reprocess at scale. This links to the recommendation: Matching Designs and Reprocessing, which is currently being advanced by industry.
- Further advancing education into circularity both within organisations and consumer-facing activities to instigate change.
- Certain CFE Action Areas can be accelerated, since stakeholder groups are already advancing some of their corresponding recommendations. This would include CFE Action Areas: Circular Design, Demand for Recycled and Renewable Fibres and Consumer Empowerment.
